Can You Really Edit A Wedding On An iPad?

Shot entirely on a Nikon D7000, wedding photographer Dieter Chaney did something I never thought was possible. Having free time during the dinner break, he was able to edit his favorite images using the Snapseed App (from Nik Software) right on his ipad. He later displayed them in a slideshow for all of the wedding guests to see. How's that for instant gratification?

Until this past week at Photoshop World, I had never heard of the Snapseed App. After seeing what it can do first hand, I think $4.99 is a pretty good deal to be able to quickly edit and show your work. What do you think?

33 Comments

Can on do that? Yes. Should one do that though? No. His post-processing is totally amateurish (read: crap). I've been using Snapseed for over a year to process my iPhone shots but I respect my clients enough not to mess with their once-in-a-lifetime moments by using a mobile app for color correction and other adjustments. If the couple is happy, great. However, the sample shots are of extremely poor quality (e.g., soft, under/overexposed, harsh shadows, color cast, etc.). As a side note... D7000is a great camera but shooting weddings with it...????

not sure he was actually editing all the images using that process. just to pick and choose a few he liked and could then show as a slideshow right then and there. I'm sure he'll go back to the computer to do his actual post processing... maybe not, but thats my guess.

You should probably keep you shitty "hatred" comments to yourself, cause I'm sure nobody cares about what you think sucks. Also it's not the "camera" it's the photog. If you are unable to shoot great photos with a D7000 then you should stop taking photos :)

The article asked for one's opinion. If I didn't sing praises does not mean that I was spreading hate. If you don't like my comment, the ignore it.

I also suggest that you see a MD for dyslexia. Re-read the part where I say that D7000 is a great camera. I do use my cropped sensor gear on occasion and as a backup but surely not as a primary camera.

I think it doesnt matter what you use. You use what works for you. It's not all about how expensive your camera is. it's about capturing great photos. it doesn't matter how expensive your camera is if you don't "the eye" for it.

Mate, that's all a bit strong isn't it! I think he was probably just doing it as a teaser slideshow for the wedding party.Also would love to know the problem you have with the D7000. For what it's worth, I am still shooting with two D200's like Patrick was in the post below and have just purchased my first new body (a D7000!) is 5 years.

While I can agree with your sentiments about editing someone's wedding photos on an iPad... I think he was just doing it for a quick slideshow presentation during the wedding reception. I doubt he intends to use them as the final product.

On a completely different note, your remarks about shooting a wedding on a D7000 confuse me some. You see I shot (and still do from time to time) on a D300, the predecessor to the D7000, professionally. My girlfriend's Canon T2i she uses for video costs $600 and it shoots the exact same quality video as a 7D (Canon's professional cropped sensor camera)... What I am getting at is this, it doesn't matter the camera, any camera produced in the last 4 years or so creates an image that is perfectly good for professional services. I feel like Zack Arias summed this up best on his question and answer tumblr when someone asked him what to say because he was declined a job because he shot on a D90

"Dear potential customer,I’m sorry that my gear does not meet you requirements. 10 years agoyou would have been asking for a Nikon D1. It had less than 3 megapixels. Photographers shot magazine covers with that camera. It was astaple among pro photographers. We couldn’t believe that it was ONLY$5,000.

My $500 T2i runs circles around that camera. I’m capable of shootingdouble truck spreads for publications without blinking an eye...."

photogger, you didn't exactly explain why one should not do that? I don't see how his post processing is 'crap'. It looks natural and not over-processed. His shots are decent, definitely have seen better wedding shots.I must say, that the use of a DX camera to do wedding photography isn't a sin. You use the tools that you have to do the job. Plus it isn't a given that if you shoot FX that the photos automatically come out great. That is a function of the skill of the photographer.

Parasitic (blue) color cast is not natural. So isn't the yellow hair and red/purple skin. Blown out sky isn't natural as well. It's easy to say "oh, well, that's a creative touch" but we all know that's just an excuse for poor editing/skills. In the shot with the father &amp; bride, the shirt should be white, and so should be the bride's dress in the 3rd and 8th shots.

The article said the photographer edited the pictures just to show some pictures while dinner is being served. I think the idea is smart and I am going to start doing the same thing at my wedding jobs. The photos may not have the highest quality but if you’re purpose is to make your clients happy and to get them excited seeing the photos of what just happened 2 hours ago they I think the photographer did an outstanding job. The bride &amp; groom, parents, friends &amp; guests “look at” the pictures. They don’t “look into” it. They don’t see the pictures the we (photographers) see it. Most of my clients get excited, happy, touched and some of them cry when they see some pictures that a guest took using their camera phone. I can’t imagine the family and friends seeing the moments that were captured a couple hours ago on a “bigger” screen (edited through SnapSeed). I am sure to them they’re amazing and that’s what matters. I don’t think the photographer would be editing photos in the digital darkroom at the wedding… Bottom line is, I love this idea and I am going start doing the same thing! Thanks to Dieter Chaney Photographer for the smart idea and thanks F-stoppers for posting this! Very helpful!

I think those shots look pretty darn good for editing on the fly, on an iPad. I think it could be a good idea if you do it during a break, just to show the clients how some of the shots are coming along and to see if they like the direction you are going with the processing. That said, there is no way I would hand over my finished product without going over it in Lightroom/Photoshop with a fine tooth comb.

If you read the article thoroughly, it states that he edited these at the wedding reception for the guests to see....it didn't say that these were the final photos he presented the newleyweds with. Considering all of that, I think he was smart to show the guests these photos while he was at the wedding reception. I use Photoshop and all of Nik Software's plug-ins. While Snapseed is okay for quick editing to show someone an impromptu shot from earlier that day, unless Nik pulls it together, Snapseed will never be an equivalent substitute for their Complete Collection. You get what you pay for.

Well, the clients feed us don't they? haha - I get some free time during dinner as well cause people don't really their pictures taken while they eat. But really, now I have something to do during dinner!

Do something similare with the iPad and iPhoto exporting as a Journal. Try to do In between the ceremony and the dinner very quickly. Not the full edited images but it just allows the client to see the images quickly and also allow you to pass on details to guests to look at via social media. It can be a bit risky as you only have a limited number of tools available but it has quite an impact durring the event and more importantly allows people to see some of the image

I'm a little shocked to hear that 'on-the-day' editing isn't common place to a lot of you. I know several photographers (myself included) over here in the UK who have been offering this service for a couple of years at least, although instead of using an iPad we use a laptop and Lightroom.Editing is usually done during the wedding meal (after all, not many guests want pictures of them with a mouth full of cheesecake!). Obviously the timings of the day will dictate how much time one has to compile a set of 60 ish photos into a slideshow - and where the slideshow ends (speeches, first dance, etc.), but I've found that all my clients so far have been thrilled with the service.

Expensive has nothing to with it. You also obviously have a case of severe dyslexia. I did say that D7000 is a great camera. If you don't understand the difference between DX and FX, then I can only suggest that you go back to school. It's like telling a fashion photographer at Vogue that he should use FX vs. medium format.

Anybody slagging the photog for the camera used or the post processing software used needs to get over their gear syndrome and lighten up. The D7000 is an excellent camera, period. Sure, it's crop sensor can't compete with a full frame sensor, but so what? If the D7000 works for the photographer taking the shots, and the client who is receiving them, who are you to judge? The images shared here are quite nice, and are better than many wedding photogs work. And I suspect Snapseed was used just to get quick results for the slideshow during the dinner break. But still, Snapseed encompasses most of the good stuff from the Complete Collection, and in the right hands can produce wonderful results.